As portable and stationary power tools have become ubiquitous in manufacturing, construction and maintenance, so also have hand injuries that result from the use of power tools. Cut and puncture protective gloves, sleeves and aprons can be very effective against injuries arising from use of hand tools. However, the impact energies and strike rates of power tools are generally too high for personal protective equipment (“PPE”) to be fully effective. Furthermore, in many cases, for example with rotary cutters and similar equipment, wearing of gloves and/or other PPE is not recommended, because some agencies feel that resulting snag and wind-up risks can make injuries more severe if such PPE becomes entangled in the rotary head.
One approach to reducing power tool injuries is to modify the power tools themselves in ways that reduce their risk. However, some users feel that such modifications can tend to interfere with tool operation. In addition, such safety modifications can be expensive. In particular, it can be prohibitively expensive for a machine shop or factory to replace an existing inventory of existing power tools with new power tools that include active sensors and other safety modifications and devices.
There is also a lack of standards for such safety devices and modifications, making it extremely unlikely that safety modifications would be consistent across an inventory of power tools purchased from multiple suppliers. As a result, such safety modifications and devices, if implemented on a full inventory of power tools, can impose a significant additional training burden on a machine shop or factory, in that users of the power tools must be trained in the operation of the safety features of each power tool, as well as in use of the tool itself.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus for protecting the hands of a power tool operator without imposing an undue cost and training burden on the owner of the power tool.